Which Pliny?

[barrooze]

What in your water threw off the beer? From where do you get your water?

 

[cmoon]

I have been using the bottled water from a local grocery store in combination with the pH 4.5 buffer. I believe they are in fact just filtering local tap water for chlorine and chloramine. When I got a report from them, the numbers were extremely vague (ranging by a few hundred for each ion), so I had the wards test done for my tap water.

For my Pliny, I noticed I had all the flavor and aroma, but none of the bite and mouthfeel. I want this beer to be crisp, drinkable but if the bitterness is just some distant sensation, I've failed somehow.

I recently made a munich helles using brewing salt additions, and the mouthfeel is perfect. I've only been brewing a year and a half, but I think this one change pushed my beer from something that was occasionally/accidentally great to something that I might want to start entering in contests.

Here is my household water profile and the changes I made for pliny:

Starting Water (ppm):
Ca: 17
Mg: 5
Na: 34
Cl: 23
SO4: 6
HCO3: 114

Mash / Sparge Vol (gal): 4.5 / 5.6
RO or distilled %: 0% / 0%

Total Grain (lb): 14.39
Non-Roasted Spec. Grain: 1.14
Roasted Grain: 0
Beer Color (SRM): 7.3

Adjustments (grams) Mash / Boil Kettle:
CaSO4: 1.8 / 2.24
CaCl2: 1 / 1.244444444
MgSO4: 1.1 / 1.368888889
NaHCO3: 0 / 0
NaCl: 0 / 0
CaCO3: 0 / 0
Lactic Acid (ml): 2.5
Sauermalz (oz): 0

Mash Water / Total water (ppm):
Ca: 57 / 57
Mg: 11 / 11
Na: 34 / 34
Cl: 51 / 51
SO4: 90 / 90
Cl to SO4 Ratio: 0.57 / 0.57

Alkalinity (CaCO3): -79
RA: -126
Estimated pH: 5.34

 

[barrooze]

Just to clarify, the recipe in Brewing Classic Styles is not for Pliny the Elder. As Jamil states in the book, it's an Imperial IPA recipe based off of Vinnie's Pliny the Elder recipe, but is not itself a PtE recipe. There's dozens of recipes out there that are based off of PtE, but only two (that I'm aware of) that Vinnie himself created that scale down the commercial beer to a homebrew batch size. Two of these offshoots are JZ's Hop Hammer and Mike McDole's Sam Adams Long Shot winning beer.

I just wanted to make that clarification so as not to let people think there are tons of recipes out there for a true Pliny the Elder... Either way, if it's the real deal or an offshoot, I'm sure it'll be tasty!! Just brew it!

And to clarify my clarification, I just reread the Hop Hammer blurb in BCS and it looks like you're right! Hop Hammer is Jamil's version of Pliny the Elder. He states that Hop Hammer is a direct descendant of Pliny the Elder, though it is a little bigger. Any differences are a result of the scaling down from commercial-size to homebrew-size.

I'm sure it's a good brew, but if you want a true PtE, you could always do up one of Vinnie's recipe.

 

[OzarkPA]

I pitched two packets of ale yeast and it's gone a little nuts! Do I relax or worry? I'm just trying to keep the bubbler clear because the next day the top of the bucket was bulging out...

 

[jyda]

I pitched two packets of ale yeast and it's gone a little nuts! Do I relax or worry? I'm just trying to keep the bubbler clear because the next day the top of the bucket was bulging out...

Relax Might want to think about a blow off tube (tube going into a container of sanitizer). Saved my bacon after a wall full of krausen in the master bedroom!

 

[skeezerpleezer]

Yeah........put a blow off on that!. If you don't know what that is, put a tube on the inner cyliner of the airlock going into a 1L or bigger jug of sanitized water.

 

[OzarkPA]

Crud.... when I did the OG it was 1.066 and should have been 1.07 - I just realized I forgot to put in the dextrose. Would it be ok to still add it now? Boil and cool it then pour it in the airlock hole? I brewed last Thursday night.

 

[Oldsock]

Crud.... when I did the OG it was 1.066 and should have been 1.07 - I just realized I forgot to put in the dextrose. Would it be ok to still add it now? Boil and cool it then pour it in the airlock hole? I brewed last Thursday night.

Should be fine, I acutally like to wait a few days to add sugar for strong beers to reduce the stress on the yeast.

 

[Wingfan13]

I know a bottle shop out in California that will ship Pliny into Texas if you still havent been able to get your hands on some.

 

[blhblah1]

Should be fine, I acutally like to wait a few days to add sugar for strong beers to reduce the stress on the yeast.

I have a similar situation. I used the entire farmhouse all grain kit a couple of days ago and ended up with an OG of around 1.065. Should I add more sugar or just let it go?

 

[rhamilton]

I know a bottle shop out in California that will ship Pliny into Texas if you still havent been able to get your hands on some.

Do you know anywhere in Austin that carries it? Already checked Specs -- no dice. Might have to use your shipper....

 

[jyda]

I'd be very surprised to find some place outside of a few hours drive from the brewery. From what I understand, there are some strict guidelines on how the brewery wants it's beer distributed to ensure maximum product quality. That could all just be rumor though.

 

[Emc]

So I did it before with someone else, from this thread actually, I live 10 minutes from Russian river, they sell Pliny (elder of course) at my local grocery store. Happy to trade a beer for a beer. If your interested pm me and we can trade addresses ect.

 

[StMarcos]

It's a great beer, but not imo any better than any other well made hop bomb.

 

[barrooze]

I have a similar situation. I used the entire farmhouse all grain kit a couple of days ago and ended up with an OG of around 1.065. Should I add more sugar or just let it go?

Looks like im a bit late with my reply. If the SG shows that you're at or lower than ~70% attenuation, I'd still add the sugar. If you're beyond that, just let it be.

 

[OzarkPA]

Just wanted to chime back in here - but wanted to y'all for the help here. I did my specialty grain batch 5 weeks ago - and just had my first bottle. It was awesome! I used the bru'n water spreadsheet and figred out to add a little pickling salt / baking soda / epsom salt to try to mimic the 'ideal' water conditions that were built into the spreadsheet. Besides the blow off valve blowing off the fermenter a few times beause I pitched two packets of dry yeast.... it all went pretty smoothly.

The first couple of batches of homebrew I did were so-so (one actually was quite a bit better after a year), this one is somewhere between a Ranger and Hopslam - but a little hint of a sweet taste. Very happy with it so I'm doing the happy dance

 

[scottland]

There are two differences between the current Pliny and the most recent homebrew recipe( the PDF). Both of these were confirmed by Vinnie on various interviews.

A. As mentioned above, both the 90min addition, and most of the 45min addition are hop extract. It keeps some of the vegetal flavors away, and increases yield. Northern brewer sells hopshot extract. If not that, consider a super high alpha buttering hop so you can use less, like warrior or summit. 2.5oz @90 is better than 3.5oz

B. Vinnie mentions that he added Amarillo to the dry hop bill. this was additional to what is already there.

 

[OzarkPA]

I was wondering about the bottle I tried. I thought there was a bit of a sweet taste to it, but since I've never had PLE, so I'm not sure if that's part of the taste profile or not. It could have been that I had to substitute a little lighter crystal than was called for, or maybe it's only been 2 1/2 weeks in bottle and needs to carbonate a little more.

 

[Montanaandy]

There's actually a third version of this in Jamil's Brewing Classic Styles called 'Hop Hammer'. I thought it was very tasty, but didn't really have a handle on my brewing water, and felt it ended up favoring a maltier beer. Still delicious though.

For those of you who can't get Pliny, don't fret too much. Obviously with a beer like this, getting it young is super critical. It may be if they were shipping Pliny all over the US, you wouldn't get what you liked anyway.

I personally think that this is the best/closest to the original Pliny and I have regular access to Pliny via Denver, CO on tap and in the bottle.

 

[HopSong]

Sure be great when Simcoe comes back online. I had my first PtE at the brewery this week.. Loved it.. No kits until Simcoe arrives.. unless someone can figure a good replacement for that hop.

 

[bartbert]

I think Farmhouse Brewing Supply still has Simcoe hops available.

http://www.farmhousebrewingsupply.com/scripts/hopsList.asp?idCategory=21

 

[Piratwolf]

I think Farmhouse Brewing Supply still has Simcoe hops available.

http://www.farmhousebrewingsupply.com/scripts/hopsList.asp?idCategory=21

Just checked b/c i'm down to 6 oz or so, but while Simcoe is listed there was no space to put in # of units to order. Sometimes my iPad is off, but my guess is they're sold out.

"All your home brew are belong to us!"

 

[skeezerpleezer]

They are out.

 

[fosaisu]

The farmhousebrewing link for the Pliny recipe seems to be dead (from the first post, but I also went to their website and the links there seem to be dead too). Does anyone know of another place to find it?

Also, anyone know if the Pliny hop packs ever in stock anymore at farmhousebrewing? Seems like that would be the perfect way to brew this one.

 

[Montanaandy]

The farmhousebrewing link for the Pliny recipe seems to be dead (from the first post, but I also went to their website and the links there seem to be dead too). Does anyone know of another place to find it?

Also, anyone know if the Pliny hop packs ever in stock anymore at farmhousebrewing? Seems like that would be the perfect way to brew this one.

With the Simcoe shortage I don't believe that Farmhouse is offering the Pliny packs on a regular basis. I have seen it available occasionally on the website though.

 

[scottland]

http://486286.cache1.evolutionhosting.com/attachments/0000/6351/doubleIPA.pdf

4th page. Cut back on the crystal 40, they don't use quite that much. 4-5oz is more appropriate. Otherwise that's pretty accurate. If you want to be exact, use hop extract for the 90min addition, and add like .25oz Amarillo to both dry hops

 

[barrooze]

Here's the PDF from Farmhouse Brewing Supply via pic. Just brewed this a second time. OG: 1.069 FG: 1.006 with BRY-97. Still needs to clear quite a bit, but didn't have any Whirlfloc on hand, so not expecting much in the way of clarity... It's still delicous!

 

[DrinkNoH2O]

The thing that bothers me about the Russian River .pdf recipe above is that the listed OG and FG don't make a beer of the ABV they state.

If you started at 1.070 and ended at 1.011 as they indicate you would get a beer with 7.74% ABV, not the 8-8.5% they list.

Actual Pliny (from RR's website) is 8.0% ABV.

To me I would think that 8.0% comes from an OG of about 1.072 and an FG of 1.011. Thoughts?